The two Papini children grew up through these events. Their ages at the time of the hoax in 2016 meant they were very young during the disappearance. They were old enough, by 2022, to be aware of the news coverage of their mother’s arrest and guilty plea. They will live with a publicly documented family history for the rest of their lives. That dimension of the hoax’s cost is incalculable and outside the formal legal record.
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## The Public Money Trail
One of the more concrete measures of the hoax’s cost was the money it extracted from public funds and public programs.
The California Victim Compensation Board received Papini’s application on November 28, 2016 — just four days after her Thanksgiving Day return. The timing is worth noting: before the acute grief of the “rescue” had even fully passed in public consciousness, Papini had filed for state compensation as a kidnapping victim. The application went through. Between 2017 and 2021, she received approximately $30,694.15 from the Board.
The funds were spent on items that included medical bills, therapy, and household expenses. Reports noted that approximately $1,000 of the funds was used to purchase window blinds. This last item became a shorthand in media coverage for the gap between the program’s purpose — helping genuine crime victims cover serious financial losses resulting from violent crimes — and how Papini used the money.
The Social Security Administration was also listed among the agencies compensated in the restitution order. The specific basis of the SSA claim — what benefits were sought or received under what program — was not detailed in the reporting accessible to this article. SSA programs that could apply to a reported victim of violent crime include survivors’ benefits, disability benefits, or other income-support programs that fraud could activate. The inclusion of SSA in the restitution list suggests that Papini’s victim narrative had reached into that agency’s programs as well.